Gameplay Manual

Project: Starfighter
Copyright Parallel Realities 2003
All Rights Reserved

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.

Project: Starfighter is an old school 2D shoot 'em up. In the game you take on the role of a rebel pilot called Chris, who is attempting to overthrow a military corporation called Weapco. Weapco has seized control of the known universe and currently rules it with an iron fist. Chris can no longer stand back and watch as millions of people suffer and die. He steals an experimental craft known as "Firefly" and begins his mission to fight his way to Sol, freeing key systems along the way. The game opens with Chris attempting to escape a Weapco patrol that has intercepted him.

Installation

Binary files are provided for both Windows and Linux*.

Installation under Windows

Unzip the archive into a suitable directory and then double click the Starfighter.exe file to begin. Games and settings will be saved into this directory.

Installation under Linux

tar zxf starfighter.tar.gz
cd Starfighter
make
make install

When the game is first run it will attempt to create

~/.parallelrealities/starfighter/

Should this fail the game will not run.

* x86 binary compiled with g++ on Mandrake 9. Source and makefile are provided for Linux users who need to recompile

Controls

Menus

Arrow Keys - Highlight option
Left Control / Space - Select menu option

Intermission Screen

Mouse - Move cursor
Left Mouse Button - Selected option
Right Mouse Button - Toggle planet orbit On / Off

In Game

Arrow Keys - Control Firefly
Left Ctrl - Fire primary weapon
Space - Fire secondary weapon
Shift - Toggle Primary Weapon Concentrate / Spread (see Weaponry)
T - Targetting Arrow On /Off
P - Pause / Unpause
Escape - Flee (not possible until all primary missions completed)
Escape whilst paused - Quit to title screen

Note - Keys cannot be changed

How to Play

When first starting Project: Starfighter you will see the text scrolling introduction. You can either wait for this to finish or you can skip it by pressing ctrl or space.

The title sequence will begin. Once the menu is shown (or you opt to skip to it by pressing space or ctrl) you may select from the options shown

* will only be shown if there are saved games available

Start New Game
This will start a new game

Load Game
This will bring up a list of currently available games to be loaded, along with the planet that the game was saved in. This option is only shown when there is at least one saved game available.

Continue Current Game
This will automatically load the most recently saved game. This option is only shown when there is at least one saved game available.

Options
This will show a list of game options. Options for sound, music and an auto save slot can be changed. Music and Sound can be switched to either On or Off. The Auto Save Slot allows the player to select a save slot that will automatically be updated when the player finishes a mission. This can be switched from None to 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. When this option is set to a number, that save slot will be used to save a game at the end of a mission. Note that any currently existing game will be automatically overwritten.

Quit
This will quit the game. Quitting is immediate, without prompting (the game can also be quit at anytime by clicking the close button of the window).

Loading and Saving Games

Games can be loaded from the title screen. When there are saved games available, the option "Load Game" will be shown. Selecting this will show a list of available games to be loaded. Select a game from the list to load, you will then be taken to the Intermission screen. To go back, selected Back to Main Menu.

Games can be saved in two ways. The first way is to save a game on the Intermission screen. Move the cursor to the Save Game icon and select it. You will see a list of five game slots that can be used to save a game to. Click one of these and then click the "Save" button to save the game. The second way is to use the Auto Save function. This will automatically save your game after you have successfully completed a mission. To make use of this feature you must choose a save slot that you wish to auto save into. This can be done on the title screen in the options section or on the intermission screen at the options section.

Getting Missions

In each System, the player can get missions by going to the Comms section of the Intermission screen. Here allies will inform you of tasks that need to be performed and what planet these tasks apply to. Once the player has decided which task they will perform, they must go to the corresponding planet in the system (see Moving Around for more details). Once stationed at the planet click "Start Mission" to proceed to the mission briefing screen. The "Start Mission" icon will not be shown if the mission of the planet has been completed.

Mission Briefing

Before the beginning of each mission you will be presented with a mission briefing screen. This will outline the mission's primary and (if any) secondary objectives. It will also inform you of mission restrictions, such as time limits. Once you have read this, press ctrl or space to continue

Completing Missions

Each mission in the game has one or more objectives tied to it. These objectives are either Primary or Secondary objectives. In order to complete the mission, the player must complete all the primary mission objectives. For example, when the game begins Chris is fleeing a WEAPCO patrol. The primary objective for this mission is to destroy all the enemy fighters. Once this is achieved the Firefly will leave the sector and the mission will be marked as a success.

One thing to note is that some missions will have both Primary and Secondary objectives. In this case, the Firefly does not leave the sector if all primary mission objectives are complete and secondary objectives remain. The player may then attempt to complete remaining secondary objectives or press Escape to leave the sector. Secondary objectives are optional.

During the mission you will see messages appearing at the bottom of the screen. These messages can be related to items that you pick up, as well as mission related information.

White messages are standard for picking up items such as cash and power ups
Green messages signify successful completion of mission objectives
Light Blue messages give further details about Primary mission requirements
Red messages indicate mission failures, warnings and wing mate ejections
Yellow messages give further details about Secondary mission requirements

The Target Arrow

The Target Arrow can be used to locate enemies and point you in the direction that the enemy craft is. You can toggle the Target Arrow on or off by pressing "T" on the keyboard. This arrow is very useful for finding enemies that are evasive (such as transports) on missions that require you to destroy all present craft. Simply follow the arrow to find the enemy. The arrow will not be displayed when you are within the immediate vacinity of the target. On certain missions (such as Bosses) the arrow will initially point towards a certain target that is part of the mission objective. The target's current remaining shield is also displayed in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Please note that due to the nature of the game, the target arrow cannot be cycled through enemies.

Moving Around Systems

To play a mission in Starfighter you must be stationed at the relevant planet. To get to the planet you require, you will need to click on the planet whilst viewing it on the Show System section of the Intermission screen. Travelling between planets can be dangerous, but luckily Spirit is a peaceful place and there are no chances of interceptions, so travel is instantaneous.

Other systems are not as friendly and whilst travelling to a new destination the player runs the risk of being intercepted by a WEAPCO patrol. After Spirit the player will select a planet to travel to by clicking on it with the mouse. "Destination", followed by the planet's name will appear in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. A new icon labelled "Go To Destination" will also appear. Clicking this icon will make the player travel to the destination planet.

Travelling to new planets is represented at the bottom of the screen by the two planets (the one being travelled from and the one being travelled to). A red bar will fill up as the journey progresses. The speed the bar fills up will vary occurring to how far away the planets are from one another. At any point during this time the planet can be intercepted (see Interceptions). Once the red bar has filled up completely the journey will be completed and you will be stationed that the new planet.

Interceptions

Interceptions can take place whilst travelling between two planets within a system. When the player is intercepted they will go directly into a mission-like scenario. The objective of this interception is to clear all attacking forces. Once this is done, the player will be free to leave.

Interceptions also serve other purposes - Sometimes the WEAPCO patrol may have slave transports with them. One of the objectives of a later system is to rescue a certain amount of slaves. This is only possible during interceptions.

One important thing to remember is that any damage the player receives during an interception will NOT be repaired until they have reached the destination planet. Therefore if the player is heavily damaged during one interception that damage will still be present if they are attacked again. This can make interceptions very dangerous.

Weaponry and Upgrades

During the course of the game you will receive money. Money is gained from destroying enemy craft and picking up cash spheres in game (please be aware that due to the nature of the game cash is not earned for destroying ships during Interceptions).

Money can be used to upgrade the Firefly and purchase additional ammunition for weapons. Items can be purchased from a shop on the Intermission screen.

Temporary Upgrades

Temporary upgrades are used to boost the Firefly's ability to be powered up. For example, at the start of the game the Firefly can only be powered up to fire two plasma bolts are once. By purchasing an upgrade for the Firefly, you can allow for power ups to enable you to fire a maximum of up to five plasma bolts at once. Note that this only affects power ups and these will still be ammunition limited. To upgrade your default weapon, you will need permanent power ups (see below).

Permanent Upgrades

These power ups are more expensive than temporary upgrades, but are permanent. Whereas a temporary upgrade requires you to make use of power ups on an ammunition limited base, permanent power ups are not limited. This is highly useful when facing heavily shielded and tough opponents, with no means of getting plasma ammo or transports in sight! When you power up your permanent weapon, your powered up weapon level will also be automatically upgraded if it is less powerful than your new current power up level.

When the Firefly's Primary Weapon has been upgraded to its maximum output (3 plasma cannons) the player can toggle the output type by pressing Shift. The output type can either be Concentrate (the default firing type) or Spread. Various situations can call for varying the output type.

Secondary Weapons

As well as primary weapons and temporary upgrades, the Firefly is also capable of using a secondary weapon. At the start of the game this is a rocket launcher. Like the other weapons in the game this can be upgraded by purchasing a new weapon from the shop. At the start of the game, a Double Rocket Launcher and Micro Rocket Launcher are available for purchase. Secondary weapons are used in the same way the rocket launcher is used (Space to fire). However the Laser Cannon and Charge Cannon work differently.

Neither the Charge Cannon or the Laser Cannon are ammunition limited (unlike the other rocket based weapons). The Charge Cannon works by the player holding down the Space bar and releasing it. A meter at the bottom of the screen shows how much charge has been built up. The Laser Cannon works by the player holding down the Space bar to fire a stream of laser fire. It is prone to over heating and must be allowed to cool after usage.

Certain weapons and upgrades will not be available to you until later in the game, so remember to save your money for them

Item Spheres

When an enemy craft is destroyed they will sometimes release ammo and cash spheres. Certain enemy craft will release power up spheres that can give your weapon a temporary boost. The following are spheres that can be picked up during missions,

	Cash Sphere - Provides you with an additional cash bonus
	Plasma Ammo Sphere - Increases your current plasma ammo
	Rocket Ammo Sphere - Increases your current rocket ammo
	Power Sphere - Boosts your plasma power
	Output Sphere - Boosts the amount of plasma shots you can fire
	Cooler Sphere - Increases your plasma firing rate
	Super Sphere - Three / Five way spread, full power and cooling (Rare)

Cut Scenes

During the course of the game mini cut scenes will be shown after certain missions. These scenes serve to extend the plot of the game and provide the player with gameplay tips. If you wish to skip a cut scene press Escape. It is advised that you only skip cut scenes if you have already seen them.

Ending the Game

The game is over when the Firefly's shield units are reduced to 0 (zero), or a Primary Mission objective is failed. At this point, you will see the Game Over screen. To continue, press Ctrl or Space. You will then be taken back to the title screen. In certain missions the game will end if Sid Wilson is killed.

About

Parallel Realities started off writing games on the Amiga using AMOS and then, later, Blitz Basic 2. Games written included the BOTSS Trilogy and most notably TANX Squadron. TANX Squadron was awarded Amiga Format's contributor prize of the month in the summer of 1999. Project: Starfighter originally started life on the Amiga but was never completed. Development began again for Linux in 2002 with this being our first C program. The game matured quickly from the initial ideas and this is the finished product. We do hope you enjoy playing it.

Project: Starfighter
Copyright Parallel Realities 2003
All Rights Reserved

Created using the SDL library

www.parallelrealities.co.uk